Disney is going through a major overhaul under its new CEO, Josh D’Amaro. He has been brought in to oversee a major corporate reorganization to streamline operations across the company. As part of this operational reset, its subsidiary, Marvel Studios, has been affected the most, with massive layoffs impacting its workforce.
Disney’s corporate restructuring hits Marvel the hardest
Disney has started a major round of layoffs across the organization, affecting thousands of employees spanning multiple divisions, including film and TV studios, ESPN, marketing, tech, and corporate roles. As per the company’s new CEO, it is aimed at making the business more agile and cost-effective.
According to media reports, Marvel has been hit the hardest, with almost the entire visual development department essentially laid off. It includes artists who design characters, costumes, environments, and create concept art that defines the MCU’s look. Many of those who have been let go have been with Marvel for over a decade.
Now, only a small internal team remains, whose job will be to hire freelancers per project instead of maintaining a full-time department. Safe to say, the company is switching from in-house creative production to a project-driven hiring model. Furthermore, the corporate downsizing affects around 8% of the Marvel-related workforce across divisions such as film, TV, comics, legal, and finance.
Disney’s recent move aligns with the President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige’s, vision to reduce the output of TV shows and focus on fewer, higher-quality standalone projects that don’t require prior knowledge of the MCU. Feige’s fresh approach stems from audience complaints about the confusion created by its hyperfocus on multiverse sagas and several projects not performing well at the box office.
“Given the fast-moving pace of our industries, this requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs. As a result, we will be eliminating roles in some parts of the organization and have begun notifying impacted employees,” Josh D’Amaro’s memo to employees read.
“These decisions are not a reflection of their contributions, or of the overall strength of the organization. Rather, they reflect our continual evaluation of how to more effectively manage our resources and reinvest in our businesses,” it further stated.
What do you think about the layoffs at Marvel Studios? Let us know in the comments section below.
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